New Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield and general manager Scott Fitterer spoke Tuesday for the first time since the team traded for the former No. 1 overall pick. They discussed a range of issues from the team’s new quarterback competition, Sam Darnold’s future and Mayfield’s adjustment to a new part of his career.
Here are some highlights of that discussion:
Panthers starting quarterback
Mayfield will not be handed the starting job, Fitterer said. The general manager said the team added Mayfield to make “the group better as a whole” and that he will compete with Sam Darnold for the spot.
He also noted that adding Mayfield gives the team’s third-round draft pick, Matt Corral, a chance to adjust from the offense he ran at Ole Miss to a verbiage-filled one in Carolina.
“This will allow him the chance to really learn at his own pace, learn from a couple of pros in the room,” Fitterer said.
Baker Mayfield on adjusting to playbooks
While he noted it came due to unfortunate circumstances, Mayfield has had experience learning new playbooks as the Browns switched between playbooks during his time there.
“It’s not like this is my first around having to learn something new,” he said. “The time crunch is the difference.”
In college, Mayfield transferred after his freshman year in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense at Texas Tech to Oklahoma, where the offense was led by Lincoln Riley.
What number will Baker Mayfield wear?
Mayfield’s No. 6 had previously been chosen by Panthers punter and free-agent acquisition Johnny Hekker, but the quarterback broke some news by saying he struck a deal to get the number back.
He first got the number as a walk-on at Texas Tech, he said, and received it again after transferring to Oklahoma.
“To me, it kind of symbolizes my story,” he said. “It’s something special to me now.”
Baker Mayfield shoulder injury update
Mayfield suffered a torn labrum in his left non-throwing shoulder and had to get surgery for it in January 2022. He said that his throwing motion was “extremely violent” and that he’s made some small changes to his form since then.
He noted that the most important part of the rehab process was resting and giving his body the time needed to recover.
“If you don’t handle your shoulder injuries, it will delay it and will actually make it worse for you,” Mayfield said. “ … the important part was actually resting … instead of thinking that I could go to sleep one night and wake up and it’ll all be better.”
Baker Mayfield praises Ben McAdoo
Panthers offensive coordinator and former New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo’s offense struggled last year, finishing 31st in Football Outsider’s offensive DVOA.
However, McAdoo’s new quarterback praised the play-caller, saying that he “coached some of the most efficient offenses in NFL history.”
Mayfield appreciated the system’s flexibility at the line of scrimmage and how it gave the offense an ability to take advantage of defensive schemes.
“Luckily for us, I think that’s very well without our position group, our offensive line, to be able to take advantage,” he said. “It’s the freedom at the line to be able to let a defense try and guard us a certain way and dictate where we’re going to go after that.”
Making the money work
The Panthers, Browns and Mayfield all split the quarterback’s $18.9 million salary, with Carolina taking on $5 million, Cleveland taking $10.5 million and Mayfield giving up $3.5 million off his base salary.
“We all gave in the end, Cleveland gave, Baker gave and we gave, and I think ended up being a really good deal for all involved,” Fitterer said.
What happens to Sam Darnold?
No NFL teams have called about Darnold since the Mayfield deal was announced, Fitterer said. He added that the team wasn’t looking to trade the 25-year-old.
“The thing about Sam is he played well to start the season last year when we protected him,” Fitterer said. “He had three good games to start the year and we’re like, ‘wow, OK.’ ”
On Baker Mayfield’s personality
The Panthers checked with a number of people about Mayfield before making the trade, Fitterer said, talking to people who’d worked with him in the past.
“In the end, it all came back to this is a fiery competitive guy,” Fitterer said.
Fitterer, a former Seattle Seahawks front office executive, drew comparisons to the fiery personalities he dealt with in his time there, saying that they’re a “key component” to winning teams.